Geography of the Czech Republic

The geography of the Czech Republic is quite varied. Bohemia, at the west part of Czech Republic, consists of a river basin, drained by the Elbe (Czech: Labe) and Vltava rivers. It is surrounded by mostly low mountains such as the Sudetes with its part Krkonoše, containing the highest point in the country, the Sněžka at 1,603 metres (5,259 ft). Moravia, the eastern part, is also quite hilly and is drained predominantly by the Morava river, but also contains the source of the Oder (Czech: Odra) river. Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. The Czech Republic also possesses Moldauhafen, a 30,000-square-metre (7.4-acre) enclave in the middle of Hamburg docks, which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported downriver could be transferred to seagoing ships; this territory reverts to Germany in 2028.

Geography - note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe